Campus Alert Archive
ODU

ROTC Cadets Kill the Gunman: How Students Ended a Terrorist Attack Inside Old Dominion's Constant Hall in Seven Minutes

VAactive shooteremergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On March 12, 2026, a gunman opened fire on an ROTC class in Constant Hall at Old Dominion University at approximately 10:43 AM EDT, killing one instructor and wounding two cadets. The assailant, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was subdued and fatally stabbed by ROTC students before police arrived. The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.

Alerts
3
Response
4 min
Killed
1
Injured
2
Institution
Old Dominion University
Public R1 · VA
~24,000 studentsODU Urgent Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 3 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTPush
Verified verbatim13News Now and WAVY reporting reproducing the ODU Urgent Alert text issued around 10:50 a.m. EDT138 chars
O.D.U. Urgent Alert: Active threat reported at Constant Hall. Follow Run-Hide-Fight protocols. Emergency personnel responding. Avoid area,
Sent at approximately 10:50 a.m. EDT on March 12, 2026, minutes after police began receiving 911 calls at 10:43 a.m.
Uses the standard Run-Hide-Fight active-threat response framework
By the time the alert went out, ROTC students inside Constant Hall had already subdued the gunman
UPDATEPush
Verified verbatim13News Now reporting reproducing the second ODU Urgent Alert text suspending classes after the threat was neutralized194 chars
Due to an active shooter situation in which the shooter has been neutralized, all classes and operations on the main campus are suspended for the remainder of the day (Thursday, March 12, 2026).
Verbatim text of the second ODU Urgent Alert as reproduced by 13News Now; it suspended all main-campus classes and operations for the remainder of March 12, 2026
March 12, 2026 was a Thursday, consistent with the day named in the message
By the time this message went out the assailant had already been determined deceased; police had arrived at 10:47 AM EDT, four minutes after the first 911 calls
ALL CLEARPush+1h 15m
Verified verbatimOld Dominion University Emergency Alert page reproducing the all-clear text issued at 12:05 p.m. EDT224 chars
This is an all clear notification. The emergency at Constant Hall has ended. There is no longer an active threat to the campus community. Avoid the area in and around Constant Hall where emergency officials continue to work.
Issued at 12:05 p.m. EDT on March 12, 2026, approximately 75 minutes after the initial Urgent Alert
The instruction to continue avoiding the area around Constant Hall reflects the ongoing FBI/police investigation at the crime scene
All classes and operations on the main campus were suspended for the remainder of the day
Context

Background

On March 12, 2026, CCTV footage showed that Mohamed Bailor Jalloh parked his car on the Old Dominion University campus at approximately 9:40 AM EDT. At around 10:43 AM, he entered Constant Hall and opened fire on an ROTC class, yelling 'Allahu Akbar.' He killed Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah, 42, the department chair for military sciences and a retired Army officer from Staunton, Virginia, and wounded two ROTC cadets. ROTC students subdued the gunman and fatally stabbed him before police arrived at 10:47 AM. The university issued a Run-Hide-Fight ODU Urgent Alert at approximately 10:50 AM, minutes after the first 911 calls. By 10:50 AM, it was determined the assailant was deceased. The all-clear was issued at 12:05 PM. Jalloh, 36, was a naturalized US citizen born in Sierra Leone and a former Army National Guard member. He had pleaded guilty in 2017 to attempting to provide material support to ISIS and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released from federal custody in December 2024. The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism. The attack triggered copycat bomb threats at five Virginia universities the following day.
Analysis

Key Findings

ROTC students subdued and killed the gunman before police arrived, limiting the death toll
The entire active shooting lasted approximately seven minutes from first shots to the gunman being neutralized
The attacker had a prior federal terrorism conviction and had been released from prison 15 months before the attack
The shooting triggered copycat bomb threats at multiple Virginia universities the next day
Outcome
Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah, 42, the ROTC department chair for military sciences, was killed after lunging at the shooter to place himself between the gunman and the class. Two ROTC cadets were injured. The gunman, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, was fatally stabbed (not shot) by ROTC students who subdued him. The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism; Jalloh had a prior federal conviction for attempting to provide material support to ISIS and was released from prison in 2024. Eight cadets later received Meritorious Service Medals and two received Purple Hearts.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Source
    2026 Old Dominion University shooting (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
  2. News
    Terror suspect in deadly Old Dominion shooting subdued by students (CNN)
    cnn.com
  3. News
    Students render gunman no longer alive after campus shooting (WAVY)
    wavy.com
  4. News
    Timeline of events surrounding shooting at Old Dominion University (WTKR)
    wtkr.com
  5. News
    FBI investigates deadly ODU shooting as possible act of terrorism (13News Now)
    13newsnow.com
  6. News
    Old Dominion gunman previously convicted for ISIS support (CBS News)
    cbsnews.com
Tags
active-shooterterrorismfatalityvirginiarotcstudents-subdued-gunmanfbi-investigationpublic-university
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion